Please, Cedric
by BlueKiwi34
Summary: One sided Cedric x Harry. Cedric and Cho have an argument, and Harry happens to be there
1. Chapter 1

Cedric flopped onto the seat next to Harry and let his eyes close, hoping he'd be safer in the back corner of the common room. He tossed his head to the side to get the hair out of his eyes, and Harry suppressed a smile at the familiar movement. _'Dork.'_

"There you are." A familiar voice sounded out, trampling all over Harry's warm and fuzzy feelings. Cho. How did he always manage to forget about Cho? "I should've known you'd be with him." She sniffed, tilting her head in Harry's direction. A mild sense of irritation washed through it, but as always, it was drowned out by his roaring jealousy. '_Stupid Cho. Stupid couple. Stupid.'_

"Not now, Cho." Cedric hung his head wearily, out of energy to fight with his girlfriend anymore.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just leave you and your boyfriend alone then! I am so done with having to compete with _him_ for your attention!" It amazed both boys how quickly she flounced off, her long hair breezing behind her.

"Jeez." Harry quirked an eyebrow, but it was lost beneath his birds nest hair. He pulled his headphone out, and tapped nervously on his thigh, jittery at the closeness of the other boy.

"Yeah." Cedric sighed, turning to lean on Harry's shoulder, sending thrills shooting through the paler boy's body.

And there was something. Something about how small Cedric looked, curled against Harry's chest, and the way that he decided to stay instead of going after Cho, and something about _Cedric_ that made Harry think … Maybe.

"I like you." He blurted, his ears turning bright red beneath his hair.

"I like you too." Cedric murmured, and Harry's pulse roared. But as his friend kept talking, he was left with a hollow, sick feeling. "You're my friend now, Harry, you know that. You saved my life, for God's sake, warning me about that damn dragon."

Harry swallowed. It had to come out. Now. While he had the balls to say it. "I mean I really like you."

"I really like you t-"

"No, Cedric! I mean romantically! I am romantically interested in you, I fancy you, okay? Cho ... when she calls me your boyfriend, I…"

Cedric sat up and blinked. "Harry…"

"Yeah?" Harry knew it. Knew Cedric had felt the same way. His whole body tingled, waiting for the words to leave Cedric's mouth, to confirm everything. _Say it, say it, say it._

"I don't have those feelings for you. We're friends. Just friends."

"Oh."

Cedric's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "I should go … Find Cho or something …"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Um … Harry, look …"

Harry smiled bitterly. "Don't bother. I get it."

"Uh … bye, then."

"Yeah. Bye."

And Harry was just numb. Numb and alone.

_I've learned to live half a life…._


	2. Chapter 2

"Nice to see you got yourself a date, Harry." Cedric smiled, sliding into the empty seat next to the younger boy. His hair was artfully tousled and Harry caught the sparkle in his eye before tearing his gaze away. '_Not your date, not your date.' _He thought to himself.

"You and Cho looked great out there." He replied, gesturing to the dozens of twirling couples filling the centre of the Great Hall. It was the truth as well. They looked idyllic together, and with the exception of Hermione, Harry could see all of the other girls there burning up with jealousy. He tried his best not to do the same.

Cedric grinned. "The Yule Ball is certainly … more than I expected."

Harry looked down with a smile, not wanting to meet the Hufflepuff's eyes. He forced himself to keep his hand still, to not fiddle with the table cloth, but Cedric was _so close._

"Alright, Potter?" Malfoy's dull voice cut through the cool air, and Harry squeezed his hand into a fist. "Having fun with your boyfriend over there?" A chorus of wolf-whistles went up from the other Slytherin boys, and a few Gryffindor boys joined in. That stung.

"Oh Malfoy, you jealous that Harry's found someone else?" Cedric called back, lazily dropping an arm over Harry's shoulder. Heat raced up the back of his neck and he could feel his ears going red. Draco looked as if he'd been slapped, and the boys around him fell silent.

"As if! Potter!" He spluttered, his cheeks staining crimson as he sneered and turned to shove his way through the crowd.

Grinning, Cedric leaned close and murmured in Harry's ear; "I bet his father won't be hearing about _that_."

Harry could do little more than choke on surprised laughter. He was hyper-aware of the warm weight on his shoulders, and he didn't dare move in case Cedric took his arm back. For a split second, he wondered what it would be like if he leaned up and kissed the older boy, right there. But he didn't get the chance to work up the nerve before Cho appeared, beckoning for Cedric to join her on the dance floor.

"Duty calls." Cedric sighed, standing up. He gazed down at Harry warmly and opened his mouth as if to say something, before shaking his head. "See you round, Harry. Oh, and if Draco says anything, you have my full permission to tell him we're passionately in love." He winked once before walking out to meet Cho.

Harry's brain was still in overdrive when he and Ron returned to their dorm room at the end of the evening.


End file.
